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Editor's pick: Confusion when you're pregnant and in pain

From
Margaret O'Hara, Pregnancy Sickness Support, UK

Jessica Hamzelou says that drugs aren't routinely tested on pregnant women, as experimenting on their fetuses would be unethical (10 February, p 25). The problem here is that pregnant women still need, and do take, medicines. They are then effectively in a trial with one participant and no ethical approval, data collection or monitoring. Without proper trials, women are left with insufficient information to make decisions. Simply wishing away the health condition that necessitates the drugs isn't a solution.

The untreated condition is often not neutral for the fetus: commonly, the risk-benefit ratio for both woman and fetus firmly …